Nikon of Karoulia

Early life and military career He was born Nikolai Nikolaevich Strandtman on 4 September 1875 in Grodno, Belarus.

Born into a military family closely associated with the Russian Imperial family, his father was , a lieutenant general in the Imperial Russian Army, and his paternal grandfather was Karl Gustav von Strandmann, who in turn was descended from . His brother, , was a diplomat in Serbia. He was a godson of Tsar Alexander II, and he also served as a page at the time of Tsar Nicholas II's coronation in 1894. From 1901 to 1902, he toured the world with Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich. Later, he became an adjutant for Boris Vladimirovich.

Strandtman served as a military officer in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I, during which he was a Colonel of the Russian Regiment. For his service, he received various medals and awards from the Imperial Russian Army. He was also a member of the Indian branch of the Theosophical Society in St. Petersburg but later quit, saying that the society had told him that "love was a degradation and that the mind was the highest thing." Palmer later dedicated his translation of the Philokalia to Father Nikon, stating in the book's dedication that "without [Father Nikon's] inspiration this work would not have been undertaken".

Sydney Loch, a British resident of Ouranoupoli, also wrote accounts of Nikon.

He died at Mount Athos on 20 September 1963 (Old Style date: 7 September 1963).